TITLE 24

Title 24 as published by the California Energy Commission (CEC) is widely regarded as the strictest energy code in the United States. It is updated once every three years and is made law in the state of California automatically; the most recent version is the 2013 Building Efficiency Standard became effective July 1, 2014. No other states have officially elected this standard; however, some non-CA projects choose to meet Title 24 requirements for design purposes, knowing that it is the toughest standard available.

Similar to the ASHRAE standard, there is more than one way to be compliant with Title 24 lighting requirements. The code allows for three methods of calculation for compliance with the code when it comes to lighting energy use: The Complete Building method, the Area Category method, and the Tailored method.

Regardless of which calculation method you choose to use, power allowance tables are not the final word: extra power allowances are made for integration of daylight and controls. In addition, Title 24 now requires advanced dimming controls, occupancy and daylight sensors in nearly every application.

Title 24 Lighting Requirements

Title 24 outlines building energy efficiency requirements, and includes commercial and residential lighting fixture requirements that manufacturers must comply with in order to sell in California.

The requirements for LED light fixtures are outlined in Joint Appendix 8 (JA8) of CEC's Title 24. For your convenience, we have summarized the key requirements below: